Rising life expectancy is turning the spotlight on the issue of healthy life expectancy

Four out of five new parents are risking their children’s financial futures by skimping on life cover, according to new research from Aviva.

Nearly six out of 10 retired people have become more concerned about their or their partner’s health since retiring, research* from MetLife shows.

The nationwide study it commissioned found 57 per cent of those questioned have started to worry about health issues in retirement – with that figure rising to nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) amongst those aged 75 and over.

Rising life expectancy is turning the spotlight on the issue of healthy life expectancy and MetLife is urging people to consider the growing number of new retirement income solutions such as fixed-term annuities which provide increased flexibility during retirement.

Government statistics** show the average 65-year-old man is expected to live to 83 and the average 65-year-old woman is expected to live to 85.6 years – however men can expect on average to spend more than eight years in poor general health while women could face 11 years in poor health.

People are clearly concerned about health in retirement and the potential impact on their finances. But it’s not a subject that many of us want to think about. Retirement planning needs to adapt to enable savers to be able to cope financially with ill-health.

* Research conducted by Vision Critical using an online methodology among 977 retired people between October 20th and 27th 2011